Canon EOS 7D Review

The Canon EOS 7D is Canon’s “state of the art” crop sensor DSLR. It’s not an EOS 50D upgrade, but rather a whole new level of DSLR positioned between the EOS 50D and the EOS 5D Mk II. In some ways you can think of it as a crop sensor version of the full frame EOS 5D Mk II at a price that’s $1000 less, although it has some features that even the 5D Mk II doesn’t have.

I was impressed by the EOS 7D. Clearly Canon has put some thought into this camera and made a number of changes that make the EOS 7D the closest thing to a “professional grade” APS-C body that I’ve seen to date. With the advanced autofocus and metering, very high speed continuous shooting rate, large image buffer, wireless flash control, extensive set of custom functions and broadcast quality HD video, the EOS 7D would be ideal for sports shooters and photojournalists, as well as advanced amateur photographers who want a “state of the art” crop sensor camera. The HD video features alone might make it a camera of choice for budding film makers too. The only downside of the camera might be that it’s so flexible and has so many customizable options that novices might be confused by all the choices it provides! There’s a good reason why the instruction manual runs to 275 pages.

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Features of the Canon EOS 7D

An 18MP CMOS sensor with a “gapless microlens” design for high efficiency

A 920,000 pixel, 3" high resolution LCD

An all new 19 zone AF system with dedicated AF processor

HD movies at 1080p and 720p

Continuous shooting at up to 8 frames/sec

Shutter rated for 150,000 cycles

Integrated wireless speedlite control

Improved weather sealing

Microfocus adjustment on a fixed or lens by lens basis

4 levels of high ISO noise reduction

4 levels of auto lighting optimization

5 stops of exposure compensation (only 3 stops shown in viewfinder)

A 100% view optical viewfinder

A dual axis electronic level

An ISO range from 100-6400 plus 12800(H)

Contrast detection AF in Live View mode

Face detection in Live View mode

In camera illumination (vignetting) correction for JPEGs

A “creative auto” mode

HDMI output

Dual Digic IV processors

UDMA Mode 6 CF card support

LP-E6 battery (same as EOS 5D Mk II)

Operating Speed

Like other EOS DSLRs, the EOS 7D appears to turn on instantly, taking less than 100ms to be ready to shoot. All other operations are fast too, no doubt helped by the new dual Digic IV processors. When reviewing images, the time for the display to update with a new image is under 1/2 second.

In high speed continuous mode, the EOS 7D meets Canon’s specifications of 3 fps in slow mode and 8 fps in fast mode. I actually measured 7.99 fps, but that’s close enough to 8. One strange quirk is that even if the shutter is manually set to 1/1000 sec and the lens is in manual focus mode (which should give the fastest possible frame rate), with the lens cap on the maximum continuous frame rate was only 4.25 fps. The manual warns that the frame rate may drop is the light is low (even with a fast shutter speed) – and indeed it does!

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With a mode 6 UDMA, 600x Sandisk card (pretty much the fastest card available right now), I got 20 RAW frames at 8 fps before the buffer filled (1/1000s, ISO 400) Then there was a pause of about 0.4 seconds followed by 2 rapid (8fps) frame, then another 0.4 second pause, then 2 more rapid frames and so on for about 5 seconds before the space between bursts increased to about 0.55 seconds. I didn’t measure the buffer capacity for JPEGs. since I gave up after 60 seconds of continuous shooting and 480 frames. Canon only claims 126 frames with a UDMA card, so the ultra speed mode 6 card may be showing it’s stuff here.

The use of high ISO noise reduction results in a significant reduction in the number of images which can be stored in the buffer, presumably due to the fact that the image processing power required for noise reduction slows down writing from the buffer to the memory card and so the buffer memory fills up faster.

Controls

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The control layout of the EOS 7D is fairly similar to that of other EOS bodies such as the 50D and 5D Mk II, though there are a few new buttons and switches. The main control dial has a setting “CA” which stands for a “creative auto” mode. This is somewhat like a full auto mode, but allows you to save some custom settings. You can save flash mode, picture style, image brightness, single shot or continuous mode, image recoding quality and bias exposure toward smaller or larger apertures. Once saved, these settings will be remembered every time you select the “CA” mode. If you don’t change the settings from default, they will be exactly the same as the normal “full auto” exposure mode. There are also three custom modes which allow you to save almost any camera setting from metering mode to ISO setting, shooting mode (M, Av, Tv etc.) to AF mode.

The shooting modes available are C1 (custom), C2 (custom), C3 (custom), Program AE, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, and CA (creative Auto). There are no “scene” modes such as are found on the 40D/50D and Rebel series. In this respect the 7D is more similar to the full frame 5D Mk II and 1D series bodies than any of the crop sensor bodies. The 7D has no “A-DEP” mode.

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As with all EOS DSLRs other than the Digital Rebel series, the EOS 7D has a rear thumb-wheel (“Quick Control Dial”), which defaults to adjustment of exposure compensation, but which is also used to scroll through menus and select items. On earlier crop sensor DSLRs, the lock for the QCD (which you can use to prevent accidental change of settings) was integrated into a 3 position switch which also served as the main power switch. On the 7D the main “on/off” power switch has now moved to the top left of the camera, next to the mode dial. The QCD has its own dedicated switch. The main exposure control dial (used to set shutter speed, aperture etc. depending on the shooting mode), is on the top right of the camera, just in front of the shutter release.

Like earlier xxD models, parameters such as shooting mode, white balance mode, ISO setting, shutter speed, aperture etc. can be displayed either on the top LCD or via use of the rear “Info” button on both the top and rear LCDs. The 7D also has a dedicated “Q” button which brings up current operating parameters on the rear LCD and allows each one to be changed using the 4-way control button and control dials. Though the top LCD can be illuminated, in dark conditions the operating parameters are much more easily read from the rear LCD.

The EOS 7D now has a dedicated switch for video/still shooting located to the immediate right of the viewfinder. Integrated with that button is a start/stop button for video shooting.

Also new on the 7D is a “RAW/JPEG” button, which is located to the immediate left of the viewfinder. If you are shooting in JPEG only mode, pressing the “RAW/JPEG” button allows the next shot to be recorded as both JPEG and RAW files. Similarly if you are shooting in RAW only, pressing the button allows the next frame to be recorded as both a RAW and JPEG file. If you are shooting in “RAW + JPEG” mode, the button has no effect.

Image Resolution

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As you would expect, the 18MP sensor of the EOS 7D is capable of yielding higher resolution than the sensor in previous APS-C DSLRs such as the 10MP EOS 40D and 15 MP EOS 50D. This can be demonstrated using high contrast, high resolution test charts. The jump from the 10 MP EOS 40D to the 18MP EOS 7D should give about a 33% increase in linear resolution, while the jump from the 15MP EOS 50D to the 18MP EOS 7D should yield a further 9.5% in linear resolution.

I didn’t have an EOS 50D available for comparison testing, so I used an EOS 40D where the differences should be more obvious. Indeed, on resolution test charts the higher resolution of the 7D was evident. What was a little surprising was that in the case of real world images, the difference was much less obvious, even when using good lenses at optimum aperture and the the camera mounted on a sturdy tripod. In fact in a number of cases it was hard to tell the difference between the 7D and 40D images in terms of resolved detail.

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The lack of a startling difference in image detail may be related to several factors. First, most images don’t contain high contrast linear patterns with close line spacing (but resolution test charts do). Resolution will be lower for features with less than 100% contrast. Second, though lenses are good and many will technically “outresolve” sensors, the MTF (contrast) of fine detail drops off quickly as you go to higher spatial frequencies. It’s also been shown that it’s not the highest spatial frequencies that make images look “sharp”, but the contrast at lower spatial frequencies. If you add these factors up, along with the optical limitations of many lenses, you get to a point of rapidly diminishing returns for ever higher pixel count images. We’ve pretty much hit that limit I think. Higher pixel counts do no harm as long as the smaller pixels don’t result in more image noise, but really there does seem to be little value in going to even higher pixel counts in an APS-C sensor at this point.

Image Noise

All else being equal, the more pixels you put on a sensor the smaller they are, and the smaller they are the noisier they are. However, all is rarely equal. The 7D uses a new “gapless” lens system over the pixels which increases their light collection efficiency and so reduces noise. Upgraded electronics (including the dual Digic IV processors in the 7D) can also reduce noise. So the question is whether the increased pixel count of the 7D makes it noisier than its predecessors (40D/50D). I think I can say that no, it doesn’t.

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Measuring noise is a little tricky because different cameras use different image processing and noise reduction parameters. Probably the best way to look at the intrinsic noise it to shoot RAW images, then apply known amounts of Luminance and Chrominance noise reduction to them.

As an example I took shots of a test target using both the EOS 40D and EOS 7D set to ISO 3200 and recorded the RAW images. Using Canon’s DPPRAW conversion software Luminance noise reduction can be set from 0 to 20 “units” and Chrominance noise reduction can be independently set over the same 0 to 20 range. The 40D defaults to 2/0 noise reduction (Luminance/Chrominance), while the 7D defaults to 5/12. I did three conversions on each image. One with both parameters set to 0 (0/0). one with the 40D default parameters (2/0) and one with the 7D default parameters (5/12). Of course the images are different sizes since the 40D has a 10MP sensor and the 7D has an 18MP sensor, so to equalize the size (when displayed on a monitor at 100%), I upsized the 40D images by 133%.

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Looking at the images it’s evident that the 7D doesn’t show more noise than the 40D. In fact it seems to show a little less. Tests at each ISO setting from 100 to 12800(H) using the “standard” noise reduction setting show that noise is well controlled up to ISO 800. At ISO 1600 and 3200 noise is still quite low but at 6400 it starts to become objectionable and ISO 12800 (H) is probably best left for emergency use due to increased noise and clear degradation of image detail due to the noise reduction algorithm.

Overall, I’d say that the 7D has the best noise performance of any Canon APS-C sensor camera to date. The fact that it has the smallest pixels shows that Canon have indeed been able to improve resolution without incurring a noise penalty. This is particularly noticeable at higher ISO settings. However, the 7D still isn’t as good at high ISO as the 5D MkII.

Dynamic Range

Dynamic range is the range of brightness over which a camera can record detail. It’s normally higher at low ISO setting than high ISO settings. It’s basically a measure of how bright the highlights can be and how dark the shadows can be (in the same image) while still retaining some detail in both. High dynamic range prevents the highlights from “blowing out” and the shadows from “blocking up”. To maximize dynamic range you normally need to shoot in RAW mode and do some post exposure processing.

My tests indicated that the 7D had a very similar dynamic range to that of the EOS 40D and EOS 50D. At low ISO settings the total usable range for JPEGs is a little over 8 stops. Using highlight tone priority (see below), this can be expanded by about a stop on the highlight side (at the expense of a little more shadow noise) and by shooting RAW and processing in DPP about another stop of highlights can be recovered.

Autofocus

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The AF system of the EOS 7D is entirely new. It’s not just a tweak of an existing system. There are 19 AF zones, which can be grouped together in five different configurations (left side, right side, center, top and bottom) for auto AF zone selection, or which can be selected individually. There’s also a fully auto setting in which the camera selects from all 19 AF zones. All 19 zones feature cross type sensors effective at f/5.6 and faster and the center point has additional high precision elements, which operate with lenses which have a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or faster.

Not only does the system have more AF zones than any earlier EOSAPS-C body, but it also features a dedicated AF controller to speed up servo AF operation. In fact the EOS 7D is the first non EOS-1 series body to have a dedicated AF controller.

In addition to more sensors and faster operation, the 7D AF system can compensate for AF errors due to chromatic aberration by combining data from the color metering sensors with that from the AF sensors

With the EOS 7D you can select different AF configurations depending on whether the camera is in landscape mode, portrait mode with the grip up and portrait mode with the grip down. The 7D also features new tracking algorithms which allow focus to be held on a subject even if an object briefly passes between the camera and the desired subject (as may often happen when shooting team sports).

The 7D also has a new Intelligent Macro Tracking function which helps reduce blur during macro shooting by recognizing when a macro lens is attached and automatically adjusting the AI Servo sampling frequency. This AI Servo adjustment accounts for camera movement forward and back, a typical occurrence when moving in close for a macro shot as photographers rock back and forth, or a flower blows in the wind.

It’s very difficult to quantify AF performance, but my subjective opinion is that the EOS 7D has the best autofocus of any Canon APS-C DSLR. Since I did not have a 1D series body or EOS 5D MkII for a side by side comparison it’s hard for me to qualitatively or quantitatively compare them, but I suspect that the EOS 7D will hold its own against any current Canon DSLR. How it will compare with the new EOS 1D MkIV is unknown right now.

There are the usual 4 focus modes: manual focus, one shot AF, AI and AI servo.

As with the EOS 50D and EOS 5D Mk II, the EOS 7D has the capability of AF micro-adjustment, which allows fine tuning of the AF system to eliminate front and back focusing with specific lenses. This was first introduced in the EOS 1Ds Mk III. So, for example, if you find that your canon_100/2, consistently focuses slightly in front of the intended focus point, you can use the AF micro-adjustment to compensate. There are three modes, “off” that makes no adjustment, a mode that applies the same adjustment to all lenses (what would be needed if the AF adjustment of the body was slightly wrong) and a third mode which allows you to set and store adjustment factors for up to twenty different lens types. The camera recognizes the focal length and aperture range of the lens automatically. It can’t tell the difference between two different samples of, say, an canon_24-105, but it can tell the difference between an canon_300/4, and an canon_300/2.8, and apply the appropriate stored correction for each. The AF micro-adjustment is accessed through a custom function in the custom function sub-menu III and covers a range of +20 to -20 “steps”.

Metering

The EOS 7D has a new 64 zone dual layer metering sensor.One layer is sensitive to red/green light and the other to green/blue light. By using both color and luminance information more accurate metering may be possible under some circumstances.

The EOS 7D also combines focus information with luminance and color information in a metering algorithm which attempts to identify which metering zones correspond to the main subject (i.e. which correspond to the AF zones which are indicating focus or near focus) and adjusting exposure accordingly. Information is received from all AF zones, not just the one(s) selected by the user or camera.

Exposure compensation is possible over a range of ±5 stops, though only ±3 stops are shown in the viewfinder and on the top LCD. The full range can be displayed on the rear LCD. This may aid those doing multiple exposure HDR work. Auto exposure bracketing is possible over a range of ±3 stops. By combining exposure compensation with exposure bracketing, exposures can be made over a ±8 stop range. For example if -5 stops of exposure compensation are dialed in and ±3 stops of exposure bracketing is selected, three images will be exposed, one at -8 stops, one at -5 stops and one at -2 stops.

Overall, in shooting many of the same scenes with the EOS 40D and EOS 7D, the 7D did have a slight tendency to give a little more exposure at times and in some cases this may have resulted on some loss of highlight detail when shooting JPEGs.

Viewfinder

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The EOS 7D is the first EOSAPS-C camera to offer a 100% viewfinder. Magnification is 1x, which makes the viewfinder slightly larger than that of the EOS 50D, but slightly smaller than that of the 5D Mk II.

Data displayed in the viewfinder shows extensive shooting information (see illustration), including a constant readout of the ISO setting in use, the number of frames remaining in the buffer, shutter speed and aperture, battery status, exposure compensation, a highlight tone priority indicator, a focus confirmation light and various parameters relating to flash usage. A grid can be electronically displayed in the viewfinder to aid in alignment.

Flash

The EOS 7D has a small built-in flash, just like all the other Canon crop sensor DSLRs. However, there’s one very important difference. The built-in flash of the EOS 7D can act as a wireless controller for external Speedlites that have wireless slave capability. While this is a function which has been offered for a long time by other manufacturers (Nikon, Sony), it’s the first time that a wireless flash controller has been built into any EOSDSLR. The EOS 7D can control 3 groups of external speedlites with up to 4 speedlites in each group and can set flash ratios for each group. Wireless control is via optical pulses from the built-in flash, so the external speed lights need to be able to “see” the camera.

Most of the white balance modes do a good job, but as expected images shot under domestic tungsten lighting are noticeably warm, even when using the tungsten setting. This is a common trait of all Canon EOS DLSRs and it’s because Canon uses a color temperature of 3200K for the tungsten setting. This is about right for professional photographic tungsten lighting, but too “hot” for domestic lighting. It’s also the color temperature for which “tungsten” balanced film is designed. A typical 100W domestic tungsten light bulb has a color temperature closer to 2900K and a 40W bulb is usually around 2500K. I’ve found the tungsten WB setting on the 7D to be about right for 500W tungsten halogen lights, but they’re typically not what you would use to light your living room. If you want neutral colors under domestic tungsten lighting you need to either do a custom white balance, or set a color temperature appropriate to the lighting.

LCD

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The EOS 7D includes the now standard high resolution LCD monitor, for high quality playback and easier menu navigation. The 3-inch high-res screen makes it easy to zoom in, for examining focus and fine details. The dot count is 920,000—now equal to the LCD used by Nikon on the nikon_d300, and as good as the best available LCD quality for any digital SLR currently on the market. The new LCD has a 160-degree viewing angle triple-layer multi-coating (anti-glare, anti-scratch, and anti-reflection), which makes for easier viewing.

Electronic Level

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The EOS 7D has a built-in two-axis electronic level, which can be displayed on the rear LCD. Vertical and horizontal tilt are displayed in 1° increments. The accuracy is ±1° when near level and decreases as the tilt angle increases.

Live View

The EOS 7D has phase detection AF, contrast detection AF and face detection AF which operate much as they do in the 5D MkII. Phase detection AF uses the standard AF sensors and requires that the mirror be lowered (which blanks out the LCD display). Contrast detection AF uses the actual image being recorded by the sensor to set the focus point and so the mirror does not need to be lowered and the LCD image does not black out. Phase detection AF is faster and more accurate, but contrast detection AF is more convenient if somewhat sluggish. Focus can take 2-3 seconds in contrast detection mode. The 7D also has a “face detection” AF mode, which is basically the same as contrast detection AF, but the image is analyzed for faces and focus and exposure is optimized for them.

In contrast detection AF mode, the focus zone can be manually moved around the screen. In face detection mode, if more than one face is detected, the one that is most important can be selected by using the Quick Control Dial.

The image can be zoomed to 5x or 10x magnification in order to get a closer look at the image for checking focus and for fine focusing in manual focus mode.

The EOS 7D allows the digital electronic level indicator to be superimposed on the Live View display. There is also a dedicated stop/start button on the 7D, which can be switched between Video and Live View control.

Video

The EOS 7D has a full set of video modes. It can shoot full HD 1080p video (1920 × 1080 pixels) at frame rates of 24 fps (23.976), 25 fps, or 30 fps (29.97); 720p HD recording at 50fps or 60 fps (59.94) and SD video (640 × 480 pixels) at frame rates of 50 fps or 60 fps (59.94).

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Unlike earlier EOS models, the EOS 7D now has a dedicated switch/button for video situated just to the right of the viewfinder. The switch selects between Live View and Movie mode and the button starts and stops the operation

There is a built-in mono microphone and a jack for attaching an external stereo microphone. The 7D has a small built in speaker (just to the left of the viewfinder) for playback of recorded audio. Note that the built in microphone will pick up camera noise and that may be particularly objectionable with some IS lenses which make a constant “whirring” noise while IS is operating.

Video quality is excellent, very similar to that of the 5D MkII. The 7D actually has more control over video shooting parameters than the original EOS 5D MkII had, though the 5D MkII firmware has been updated. The 7D still has a greater choice of frame rates than the 5D. There is still no tracking autofocus with either camera, so that’s something to bear in mind. You can manually shift focus and zoom, but that’s not easy with a moving subject. Image stabilization still operates as long as you are using an IS lens.

1080p HD video from DSLRs such as the EOS 7D and EOS 5D MkII is high quality (“broadcast quality”) and is something which attracts amateur film makers. Hobbyists shooting home video might find a consumer camcorder easier to live with since they typically allow more control over video shooting, have a larger range zoom and offer tracking AF while shooting.

One word about playing back the HD .mov files on your computer. You may have problems with “jerky” motion if you have a Windows PC and use Quicktime to view the movies. I’m told the PC implementation of Quicktime leaves something to be desired and that it works better on a Mac. Since I don’t have a Mac, I can’t test that theory, but I can tell you that despite a dual core processor and no other programs running I got jerky playback on a Windows XP PC under Quicktime, even after tweaking the Quicktime parameters. 1920×1080 at 30 fps is a lot of data to handle.

Using the free “VLC media player” program I did get smooth HD video and audio playback, but you may have to do the following to set it up for HD video playback on a slower system:

Open Tools, go to Preferences

Click Show settings = “All”

Go to "Input/Codecs

Go to “Other codecs/ FFmpeg” subcategory

Set “Skip the loop filter for H.264 decoding” to “ALL”

Restart the program

The bottleneck with Quicktime may lay in the video card speed as a number of Windows PC users with fast video cards (and quad core CPUs) report smooth playback with Quicktime.

Peripheral Illumination Correction

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While Canon has offered peripheral illumination correction (also known as vignetting correction) in DPP when doing conversions from RAW image files for quite a while, as with the 50D, the 7D can apply the same corrections to in-camera JPEGs when certain Canon lenses are used. The camera has a database of 20+ Canon lenses. The Canon EOS Utility software can be used to check which lenses are in the database and to add others for which the data is available. If the images are shot as RAW files, the amount of peripheral illumination correction applies can be adjusted using Canon’s DPP software.

Self Cleaning Sensor

The sensor cleaning system of the 7D includes an antistatic coating on the low pass filter to provide “better dust resistance”. The sensor uses the same ultrasonic shaking mechanism as the 50D to shake any dust particles off the low pass filter when the camera is turned on and off. The position and size of any dust stuck on the sensor can also be saved as reference “dust delete data” and this data can be used for removal of dust spots using post processing with Canon’s DPP software.

Color Rendition

The EOS 7D renders colors in a manner, which is fairly consistent across the whole line of Canon EOS DSLRs.

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Color rendition can be modified using any of the supplied “Picture Styles,” which are:

Landscape  for punchier greens and blues with stronger sharpening to give a crisp edge to mountain, tree and building outlines

Neutral  ideal for post-processing

Faithful  adjusts color to match the subject color when shot under a color temperature of 5200K

Monochrome  for black and white shooting with a range of filter effects (yellow, orange, red and green) and toning effects (sepia, blue, purple and green)

Canon also supplies a Picture Style editor, which allows the user to create and upload new picture styles to the camera. Picture Styles can also be applied to RAW captures using Canon’s DPP software.

Highlight Tone Priority

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The EOS 7D has a highlight tone priority (HTP) setting, which reduces the clipping of bright highlights. The exact mechanism behind it isn’t detailed by Canon but the effect is similar to that which could be obtained by using a nonlinear amplifier gain setting to the sensor data, which effectively could be considered to be the equivalent of shooting the highlights at an ISO setting about one stop slower than the shadows. The slowest ISO setting allowed when using HTP is 200. HTP is quite effective at increasing highlight detail, at the possible cost of slightly noisier shadows.

Auto Lighting Optimizer

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The Auto lighting optimizer function analyzes the image and can optimize the brightness and contrast to improve the image (e.g. it can correct for dark subjects in back light situations). There are 4 options (off, low, standard and strong). This function can also be applied to RAW images during post-exposure processing using Canon’s DPP software.

The effect of the auto lighting optimizer is subtle. On some images it makes no difference at all, while with others there is a difference—though even on the “strong” setting, the effect is small. There are much better correction tools in DPP, so auto lighting optimizer seems to be something mostly for those who like to print JPEGs straight from the camera rather than doing any post exposure optimization.

Memory Cards

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The Canon EOS 7D uses CompactFlash (CF) memory, as do all Canon EOS DSLRs other than the Digital Rebel series (which now use SD memory). The EOS 7D can take advantage of the extra speed of UDMA (Ultra Direct Memory Access) enabled cards and supports such cards up to mode 6 (which supports data transfer at speeds up to 100MB/s). The ability to use fast UDMA as well as the speed of the dual DIGIC IV processors means that the EOS 7D can take advantage of the fastest CF cards, such as the 90MB/s UDMA (6) SanDisk Extreme Pro cards.

Note that any CF memory camera can utilize both UDMA and non-UDMA cards. If you use a non-UDMA card in the 7D it’s just fine, but data transfer to the card will be a little slower. If you use a UDMA card in a camera like the EOS 40D that does not have UDMA support, it will be fine too, but it won’t be able to take advantage of the UDMA transfer protocol.

Given the size of the files generated by the EOS 7D, I’d recommend at least a 4GB or 8GB card.

Batteries

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The EOS 7D has departed from the BP-511/512 batteries used in the EOS 40D/50D and uses the same 1800mAh LP-E6 battery as used in the EOS 5D Mk II. This battery gives increased shooting capacity. Canon estimates 1000 shots at 23°C without flash use and 800 shots with 50% flash use. At 0°C these numbers fall to 900 and 750 respectively. With the optional BG-E7 grip and two batteries installed, these numbers are doubled.

The LCD battery indicator now has 6 levels which show the state of charge of the battery.

Choosing a Lens

The EOS 7D can use any Canon lens, both EF (full frame) and EF-S (crop sensor). The obvious choice for a wideangle lens would be the canon_10-22. It’s a good lens and has a very useful superwide zoom range. The excellent canon_24-105, would pair well with the 10-22 (nobody will miss 23mm!). It’s a very sharp “L” series lens with built-in image stabilization.

If you wanted one high-quality lens to do as much as possible, the new canon_15-85is, might be a good choice. With a focal length range equivalent to a 24-136mm lens on a full frame camera, it covers most wide angle and short telephoto needs. If you want something faster, look at the canon_17-55. As long as the smaller focal length range isn’t a problem, it may be a better (though more expensive) choice.

For a telephoto zoom, my pick would be the canon_70-300/4is. It’s small, inconspicuous, sharp and the IS works well. One of the EF 70-200 “L” series zooms would also be a good match, which one depending on the size of your wallet. The EF canon_70-200/2.8Lis, is the best, but it’s quite large and heavy. The EF canon_70-200/4L, is smaller, lighter and one of the least expensive “L” series lenses, though it doesn’t have image stabilization built in. All the 70-200 “L” series lenses are optically excellent.

Compared to Nikon D300s

The most obvious competitor for Canon’s EOS 7D flagship APS-C format DSLR is the nikon_d300s — which is Nikon’s flagship APS-C format DSLR. Both cost around $1700, both have HD video, both have a high continuous shooting rate, but there are differences and, at least on paper, the EOS 7D seems to “outfeature” the D300s in many areas.

Canon EOS 7D

Nikon D300s

Image size (pixels)

5184 × 3456

4288 × 2848

Sensor

18MP CMOS (Canon)

12.3MP CMOS (Sony)

ISO

100-6400 plus 12800

200-3200 plus 6400

Video

HD 1920 × 1080, HD 1280 × 720, SD 640 × 480

HD 1280 × 720, SD 640 × 480, SD 320 × 240, 24 fps

Continuous drive

8 fps

7 fps. 8 fps with optional grip and battery pack

Viewfinder

100%, 1x

100%, 0.94x

AF Zones

19 zones

51 zones

Metering

63 zone (color)

3D Matrix (color)

Memory Card

CF

CF plus SD

Wireless Flash Control

Yes, 3 groups

Yes, 2 groups

Level Indicators

2 axis electronic level

Virtual horizon in Live View

Since I didn’t have a D300s available for side to side comparison I couldn’t compare noise levels, dynamic range or AF performance. That will have to be left to other reviewers.

Compared to EOS 50D

The canon_eos50d is a very good camera and, under many circumstances, can produce images, which are very close indeed to those that he EOS 7D produces. However, it lacks a number of features that more advanced photographers might want or need. Among the added features of the EOS 7D are:

HD and SD video with sound

A new 19 zone AF system with dedicated processor

A higher pixel count (18MP vs 15MP)

A higher frame rate (8fps vs 6.3fps)

A new 63 zone dual color metering system

Wireless speedlite control via built in flash

A larger image buffer

A larger (100%, 1x) viewfinder

Faster operation via dual DIGIC IV processors

ISO range of 100- 6400 plus H (12800)

Better environmental sealing

Higher capacity battery

Built-in Electronic Level

UDMA mode 6 support

Not all photographers will need all these added features, but many will find them very useful.

Conclusion

If you expect a huge difference in overall image quality between the EOS 40D, EOS 50D and EOS 7D, you’d probably be somewhat disappointed, but that’s not what the EOS 7D is really about. In terms of ergonomics and features, the 7D is clearly ahead of the other EOS crop sensor cameras. Not only does it add 1080p HD video (with dedicated controls), it adds a totally new AF system with 19 AF zones, a new metering system, a bigger viewfinder, faster frame rates, a larger buffer, a more rugged shutter assembly, wireless flash control, an electronic level and a higher capacity battery to name just a few of the new features. As a bonus you do get slightly higher resolution and slightly lower noise levels, so image quality certainly hasn’t suffered.

For some, the addition of HD video alone would have been enough reason to upgrade, but when you add in all the other new features, the EOS 7D becomes and extremely attractive camera. Yes, it’s around $700 more than an EOS 50D (doesn’t have video) and $1000 more than an canon_rebelt1i (has 720p video at 30 fps and 1080p video at 20 fps), but for serious photographers I think it’s worth the extra money. For casual photographers who just want to record vacations and family events, it’s probably overkill and a Rebel T1i might be all that’s needed.

Where to Buy

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Example EOS 7D Photographs

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canon_18-135is, set to 100mm, f/8, ISO 800, 1/800s. This image was shot in RAW mode and processed using Canon’s DPP software (which is supplied free with all their DSLRs). A warm color balance was chosen

10125470

canon_18-135is, set to 18mm, f8, ISO 1600, 1/600s. Using the grid display in the viewfinder of the EOS 7D, I aligned the main pole of the sign with the vertical.

10143172

Canon EF 500/4.5L, 1/250s @f8, ISO 400. I used the 2.3% spot meter function of the EOS 7D to meter this image (Av mode). Since the area of the spot meter fit inside the image of the moon, an accurate exposure was obtained.

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While there are features in the D300s I'd like to see in the 7D (e.g. joystick in the grip, spot metering can be linked to active AF point, less MP etc.) I still consider it a worthy upgrade to my 40D.
Great review Bob, as always.
Happy shooting,
Yakim.

I am surprise by your one observation: "The manual warns that the frame rate may drop is the light is low (even with a fast shutter speed) – and indeed it does!"

Did they explain (or do you know) why it would drop in frame rate? Especially since you set the shutter speed to 1/1000s and put it into manual focus mode beforehand, I would have expected the frame rate to be constant. Is this common in all DSLRs?

No explanation. I was surprised and found the effect by accident! Only after reading the manual did I find that comment by Canon. At first I thought the camera was defective, but as soon as I was imaging a scene of normal brightness I saw the full, advertised 8 frames/sec.
Maybe it has more trouble compressing a really dark image, though I've no idea why that should be. I could perhaps see why a high ISO dark imagfe might take more time to compress, plus such an image might need more noise reduction applied, which I suppose could take up some time. I didn't really experiment to see exactly under what set of conditions the frame rate dropped and I've never really looked for the effect on other DSLRs. I don't recall seeing a similar warning in other EOS manuals, though I suppose I may have missed it.

Interesting. FYI, I did a bit of googling and apparently others claim that holding down the AE-lock button allows it to hit 8 FPS under those circumstances. That seems to imply the metering system is involved somehow.

When shooting movies, the review seems to be saying that you can use either phase detection AF or contrast detection AF. Is that correct?
If you can use phase detection AF while shooting movies and the LCD has to be blacked out because of that, I would assume that you can still see what you're doing through the viewfinder, correct?
When using either method of AF for movies, what is the focus indicator?

You can use either live mode (contrast detection) or quick mode (phase detection) for AF, but when shooting moves all focusing is done before the first frame is shot. AF indication is just like in Live view. Green square in Live mode, red square in Quick mode. There is no indiction of focus while the video is recording.
In Quick mode the mirror does drop down, the image blanks out, the camera focuses, the mirror goes up and the display reappears. You can then start the video recording.
When you are actually shooting, no auto focusing takes place (i.e. focus does not track), though you can make the camera refocus by pressing the AF-on button. Shooting continues and the camera uses Live focusing (contrast) even if you've selected quick focusing (phase) in the menu.

It depends on the lens. Ring USM lenses are quieter than AFD lenses of course, Both are audible, AFD lenses are loud, but USM lenses aren't terrible, though they are clearly audible.
I have audio files, but I don't seem to be able to attach them here. I'll see if I can figure out a way to post them.

I rented a Canon 7D, and if you're shooting raw and not in a hurry to process your files, it's a terrific camera. However, if you're shooting raw, you'll need to wait 3-6 months before matching software is available for processing. What a bummer! It would really be nice if the camera and software manufacturers could act in coordination with one another...they might actually sell more than they're already doing with their partnership!! Good thing I rented it for a week and found this out before shooting an entire event in raw!!

Editor's note: Canon supply their own RAW image processor (DPP) which is an excellent RAW converter (possibly the best one out there). So you can shoot and process RAW files just fine. What you probably can't do (yet) is use your normal Adobe Photoshop or other 3rd party workflow until Adobe (or whoever) decide to issue an update with support for the 7D.

I'm sorry that the 7D has no A-DEP mode. However, while I consider this to be a negative, it is tempered by the fact that the A-DEP for my 20D is crappy compared to A-DEP mode for my film EOS cameras (650, A2E, and Elan 7) -- which allowed me to pinpoint what I wanted to be within the depth of filed by aiming near with the first click, aiming far with the second click, and with third click everything within the near and far far parameters would be in focus. I don't know why Canon had to changed to a vastly inferior A-DEP, to put it mildly.

>> However, if you're shooting raw, you'll need to wait 3-6 months before matching software is available for processing.
1. It's nothing new. It happens all the time.
2. Beta versions of third party software are available.
3. DPP3.7 is available.....
Happy shooting,
Yakim.

I was really looking forward to the "Compared to Nikon D300s" section, hoping the 'face-off' would help me make up my mind which one to go for, so was disappointed to read that you didn’t have a D300s available for side to side comparison and couldn’t compare noise levels, dynamic range or AF performance as it leaves me right where I was, which is sitting on the fence...

Editor's note: Personally I'd chose between the D300s and EOS 7D based on features and compatibility with current equipment rather than pixel peeping for noise etc. Both cameras are capable of producing outstanding images. If I owned a bag if Nikon lenses, I'd go with a D300s, If I owned a bag of Canon lenses I'd go with the 7D. If I didn't own either I'd want to go to a camera store and play with both of them "in the flesh" to see which one felt best to me.

Post Sriptum: I've got no significant 'sunk costs' in either system (sold most gear with my EOS-3, which actually reminds me one thing: how come we still don't have a centre AF point that would work @ f/8, as EOS-3 had? -- that allowed me to use 100-400 + 1.4x extender at its long end = 560mm, my budget super-tele :)
And I did do go my local store and played with both to get the feel for how they handle; neither felt awkward, so in a sense inconclusive in terms of identifying 'the winner'.

I too like the AF layout of the D300 much more but the fact that all rightmost and leftmost AF points are all linear (i.e. non-cross) makes for slower AF. No thank you.
I tried it once. I took a D300 with 105/2.8 VR and compared it to my 40D and 100/2.8. I later took another D300 with 17-55/2.8 AF-S and compared it to my 40D and 17-55/2.8 IS. Differences were, in a word, embarrassing. The 40D locked focus quickly and followed easily. The D300 struggled to lock focus and regularly lost it.
Now, it was not a scientific test of any kind. I just played around with friend's cameras. I also didn't fiddle with AF settings, CF's etc. However, the differences were so big that I'm positive that the basic difference stem from the type of the AF sensor.
Happy shooting,
Yakim.

I agree with Cornell.
But even better than an A-DEP mode would be lenses with "real" aperture, distance and d-o-f- engravings.That's what's keeping me from going digital.
Hyperfocal focusing is a must in landscape photography. Medium Format digital that would give me this, is just too expensive.

Hi there
As i can read in several reviews people only talk about noise in high ISO images. But as I can se the noise in 200 and 400 ISO images is to high compared to what you can se in EOS 40D RAW files.
What's yor opinion about this?

Editors NoteI don't really see any significant noise in low ISO images, or any significant difference between the 7D and 40/50D at low ISO.

The EOS 7D reminded me of the EOS 5 (film) back in '92. It is a semi-pro body cheaper than the 5D and 1D series. I am pretty sure that many pro will start using this body.
Well done Canon and Good review Bob.

Cornell, I think you are confusing DEP and A-DEP modes. I have never heard anyone say a good word for A-DEP, and have always regarded it. like the "idiot modes" as a waste of space on the dial. DEP mode, which is the mode where you focus near and focus far to tell the camea what range you want, had its uses, and indeed I did use it occasionally on my film 1-series bodies, but I can't say I miss it.
Bob, helpful and interesting review, thanks for your efforts. Am I right in thinking that the WFTs for the 5DII and 7D still use the BP-511A battery? That's pretty dumb, at least for those – not me – that use the WFT. However, there's one WFT feature that should surely now be built into the camera (a hardware enhancement, but it would cost very little to add), which is (wired) host USB 2.0 High Speed, with facilities for dumping files to a USB disk either as you shoot or afterwards, and for reviewing on the camera files that are on the disk. Camera LCDs are now good enough and big enough that this facility would make storage devices like the Canon M80 and Epson P-series redundant for most purposes.

Obviously there are a number of factors that go against that claim, and a lot of the discrepancies are probably due to software/configuration issues, but I'm curious to see the reaction here. It's no secret that photo.net has a more traditional user base that doesn't hold pixel peeping as law and is more than willing to dismiss the newest thing for something tried and true.

Editor's note I'm actually working on a G11 review next. I think it's long been established at at the lowest ISO settings the results from P&S type digicams with small sensors can rival those from DSLRs, certainly as long as you're not cropping or trying to make huge prints.

How does the electronic level indicator work out for you? It seems that when I get noticeably skewed horizons, they are typically less than 0.4° off. If it has 1° resolution it seems not greatly useful.... I'm still hoping for DPP to include a horizon levelling option.

Sure, the d300 has more focus points clustered together. But only 15 are really useful and accurate. The others just get in the way. Comparing to the 7D which has 19 useful points that are all useful and more accurate. I have actually rented a d300 with a 14-24 f2.8. Don't get me wrong, Nikon is also bad ass for me but I am waiting for a d700s with video so I can finally own both systems one day.

Cheers for your feedback, Yakim and Angel: very interesting! -- I was under impression that N's AF system in D300 is as good as it gets in crop sensor cameras.

How about durability? -- again, from what I've heard/read, I've gathered that N bodies are considered to be more sturdy and better weather-sealed as compared to their C counterparts (mind you, I had issues with my EOS-3 even in not-so-challenging conditions, and when I sent it to Canon Service, they claimed they tested it and insisted there was absolutely nothing wrong with it, yet the problem didn't go away.) Camera's ability to keep operating in harsh environment is quite important to me.

note to the Editor / webmaster: the newly posted link on the home page to this just-published review currently points to
http://www.photo.net/equipment/nikon/eos-7d/review/
thus giving the "404 - Page Not Found" error message (!)

Durability. I don't really know since the only extreme weather I have shot in with my canon DSLR's have been in Las Vegas, with no problems. I've read about the 5dii failing in an Antarctica expedition when the 5dii was barely released and that all N shooters kept on shootin'. The 7D is supposed to be like the 5dii with all the gaskets and sealing. The D300 does have a different "feel" to it, but I still like my 7D's feel better, but I guess that is because I've been shooting with canon longer. By the way, I love my 7D. Today I was taking a self portrait with the 85 f1.2L mkii and I just love it when I look through that huge glass and watch how the entire lens lights red when autofocus confirms. LOVE MY 7D!

Excellent review Bob, very thorough and objective. I remember posting some time ago that I had no need to upgrade since I felt that my 30D was more than enough camera for me; the 7D changed my mind and I'm extremely pleased with the camera and its wealth of features and capabilities. I bought the camera primarily for the new AF and metering and I'm impressed on both fronts. Aside from my 1vHS, this is the most complete and capable camera I've owned. Thanks again for the great review.
Tomek--Before the DSLRs took over the world, the Canon 1v was regarded as the best sealed 35mm camera. I read that in a couple of different magazines some time ago, but I can't remember which. That same level of sealing continues in the 1-series DSLRs. My 1v has been dripping wet in moderately heavy rains (with so much water running over it that the AF couldn't focus through all of the water running over the lens...long story, don't ask), and never had a problem. While the 7D isn't sealed that tightly, it is sealed much more tightly than the 30D I moved from, and probably enough so that one needn't worry quite as much as before, but I'd still take precautions.

Thank you for the in-depth review Bob! I have a couple of questions that i hope you and/or the other forum members can answer or comment on:
1. Comparing the 7D & 1d Mk III, which would be a better performer in the following areas:
a) Image noise
b) Over-all image quality
c) Focusing speed in low light
2. Is the weather sealing on the 7D as good as the one of the 1D Mk III???
Thanks a lot!!!

Hi,
I was thinking for buying 5D mark II, but now is the 7D i read the differences, but still dont know which to buy. I do a lot studio photography and also video art. Anyway what you think should i save money and buy 7d or is better for me to buy 5d mark II?
Thanks.
Awik

Hi I Know the 5DMK2 vs the 7D has been talked about alot I don't want to start a big disscusion here thats not my intention.I have been looking at the various tests for the 7d and they are not consistant, at imaging resourse the 7d looks sharper than the 5dMK2, but at another review that I have posted below shows the 7d to be poor. I love the 7d and I have tested it against the 5dMK2 and I have been very impressed how close they are in IQ,and I plan on getting a 7d soon.There are a lot of seasoned photographers here who have more experiance and knowlage then myself can anyone please explain why some of the test are so different. Thanks
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/E5D2/E5D2hHOUSE.HTM
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/E7D/E7DhHOUSE.HTM
http://rolandlim.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/canon-eos-7d-review/

Upgraded from 40D, which I'll keep as a backup. Very happy so far with image quality, tack-sharp focus with some help from micro-adjustment, and great low-light images. Low noise and 100% viewfinder great pluses. Not too concerned with 1.6 crop factor, at least I get to use my EF-S lenses!

Noticed the following problems:

Canon still supplies a flimsy rubber thingy to cover the viewfinder AFTER removing the eye cushion when taking long exposures (experts say similar things at: Canon 7D conclusion ) . Very clumsy and time-consuming. Nikon's D700 features a lever to activate a shutter over the viewfinder.

With all the rave's you would think this camera has no drawbacks, but it does! I can't stand that you can't hold the camera to your eye and see THROUGH THE VIEW FINDER! You have to use the LCD screen, which leaves a lot to be desired for "wild" shooting, i.e. when the camera is not mounted on a tripod. Not only is it nearly impossible to track/follow focus moving objects in bright sun (i.e. reflective off the LCD) sunlight, but you can't follow focus at all (since there is not any auto focus servo in video mode.
Does anyone else find this a problem? I don't feel kinetically connected to my shots unless the viewfinder is "in my face" so I can move as a unit for better control of image composition on the fly when no tripod in near. Please advise??

Can't look through the viewfinder??? I fail to see how that's possible, unless you have a face like a stork, the viewfinder is magnificent on the 7D.

Thanks for the great review. IQ between my two cameras (also the 40D and 7D) are similar, but the AF, and other features make the 7D my choice for most of the shooting I do which is grade-school and summer league sporting events, both indoor and outdoor. Even David Ziser, a world-renown wedding photographer said at his last seminar in St. Louis, MO, (09/2010), that he uses his 5DII for some portraits and fine art work, but he prefers his 7D when he shoot weddings, as he finds it a bit more responsive. I like my 7D, and can see the viewfinder just fine.

I've tested the Canon 7D camera, its one of the easiest to use and light weight camera. I've noticed some people find it hard to use Canon, that's because they are not use to Canon cameras. It's just like people being using Nikon for a long time and get so use to using Nikon cameras and don't feel confortable using Canon cameras?

Thans Bob. An excellent well thought through review. Timely for me too. I'm a 50D user and very happy with it. Mainly an MF film shooter it was my first digital cam and does good justice to my L series lenses.

Your opinion please since you're familiar with the 50D. Putting money issues aside for the moment (I'll come back to that reality later :) ), I've an opportunity to consider the 7D as a first body to partner with my 50D and am giving thought to the 5D MKII as an alternative. I could even replace the 50D with the 5D MKII but a partner body is more important to my use, so that's a route I'd rather not take. By the way video does not interest me at all.

I was thinking the 7D would partner the 50D well because: shooting with 2 cropped sensor cameras may be more "convenient" (not having to be distracted by focal length issues); I'd be gaining resolution, noise / low light performance, speed, excellent 100% viewfinder; a body designed for the rough stuff; similar dimensions and feel...

So, I suppose the real question is, if I'm now adjusted to the APS-C format and the 7D is arguably the optimal APS-C camera going, would I benefit THAT much from a 5D MKII full frame over the 7D despite some newer features of the 7D?

Would your experience with the 7D indicate the it would be a safe bet or is the 5D MKII image quality still that far ahead?

I think what Peter Rosen means is that you can't take movies through the viewfinder. To film whilst looking through the viewfinder will mean that the camera will have to be fully remodelled. Seeing that the 7D is primarily designed for shooting stills, this means that it shouldn't warrant a complete remodel to support video ergonomics. A dedicated movie camera is probably the way to go if it annoys you so much Pete.

Canon EOS 7D is a great camera, but also has a couple of features that need improving on. While it does a relatively good job at high ISO images, do not underexpose with this camera as there is no way to bring back details without introducing "noise" I have programmed the auto focus to be activated by the "AF on" button on the rear of the camera which I find works quite well when tracking fast moving objects also in Cutsom functions I ahve set the "dial reverse" function to on, this way you turn the dial in the direction one needs the histogram to move. Since the majority of my images are wildlife, I find the camera ideal for that purpose, you will not be disappointed. I also have a Canon EOS 1D Mark III which the 7D is replacing gradually. One final point is when you purchase the camera, you may also wish to have Canon install the up-dated "mode" dial modification which lock the mode dial from accidentally changing modes during transport.